UNSRCT Drones Inquiry

The interactive online platform presents a variety of information in the form of satellite and photographic imagery, witness testimony and spatial reconstruction.

The interactive online platform presents a variety of information in the form of satellite and photographic imagery, witness testimony and spatial reconstruction.

Produced for the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Counter-Terrorism and Human Rights, this platform presents a spatial analysis and visualization tool focused on civilian casualties of drone strikes.

Collaborators

Client

Location

Afghanistan, Gaza, Pakistan, Somalia, Yemen

Completion

2014

In collaboration with Forensic Architecture, SITU Research has been working with United Nations Special Rapporteur on Counter Terrorism and Human Rights, Ben Emmerson. On March 11, 2014, the Special Rapporteur presented a final report to the United Nations that addresses the impact of drone strikes on civilians and the issues of government transparency and drone strike documentation. SITU’s role was to provide spatial analysis for the inquiry into civilian casualties by drone strikes in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Yemen, Somalia and Gaza. The project seeks to map, model and visually animate the aftermath of drone strikes, placing a specific emphasis on the damage that these strikes actually do on the ground.

Satellite imagery capturing the appearance of the site at Datta Khel, Pakistan both before and after the strike.

Close-up highlighting two possible impact craters at Datta Khel.

1 / 2Satellite imagery capturing the appearance of the site at Datta Khel, Pakistan both before and after the strike.

The interactive online platform locates 30 drone strikes that were investigated by the UNSRCT and concurrently provides a summary of the data associated with each strike.

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A series of visualizations made in collaboration with Forensic Architecture have been made into videos that reveal additional information about significant drone strikes. Various types of media were cross referenced such as photographs, interviews and satellite imagery, in order to provide architectural analyses for these specific drone strikes.